The Christmas Jonah

Spoiler: It’s me—I’m the Christmas Jonah. I don’t mean that I’m back luck to sailors, or that I got swallowed by a whale (big fish?) and spit up three days later. No, I’m referring to a different part of the story. But I’ll get there. First let me explain where I am right now.

I should be in Spokane at the moment. In fact, the plane I was booked on should be landing right about now. Instead, I’m sitting in the Pheonix airport. But that’s not the start of the story. The start of the story is early this morning, about 5am when I realized that my ride to the airport wasn’t going to make it in time to get me there for my flight. So I got in my car to drive myself to the airport, figuring I’ll just pay the parking and figure it out later. But the battery’s dead. So I jump my car with my portable car jumper (thanks, Dad!) and finally get on the road. Red lights all the way. Seriously, ALL THE WAY. I finally get there, park my car, and run into the airport. Interesting side note: anyone who is considering packing their sonic screwdriver in their carryon should know that it looks suspicious in an x-ray machine. Anyway, turns out I made it just in time (You thought I was going to miss it, didn’t you? Just wait, it gets better).

So after a super-stressful beginning to my much-needed vacation, I get to Colorado with about 45 minutes before the second of my three flights. I stop for breakfast, and barely make it in time to the terminal—or so I thought: turns out they had an issue with ice in the engine (apparently they weren’t expecting winter in Denver?), and so we had to wait for about 45 minutes before we could board. Then, as we’re boarding, they stop the line right in front of me and announce that everyone else has to check their carry-on. A pain, but I can deal—even though I despise waiting for the carrousel. There are a lot of essentials I am willing to go without to avoid checking a bag.

 ANYWAY, we get on the plane, then find out that the thing has to be de-iced. We finally take off about 2 hours after we were scheduled to leave. My connection from Phoenix to Spokane was scheduled to leave an hour after the Denver flight was supposed to arrive. Needless to say, I didn’t make it. When I went to the counter by the gate, I was given my new ticket: a standby ticket for a flight leaving at 9PM. Even better: the earliest flight I could be confirmed on was 9pm TOMORROW night. So now I’m just super aggravated and stressed and just basically a mess. So I go to the customer service line to see if they can do anything about it.

Here’s where I really go Jonah: I have 45 minutes to wait in this line and think of all the ways I can furiously insist that I get a better flight. I went over every single possibility. None of them were pretty, but they were all satisfying. It was in the midst of this that a thought struck me, or rather an image: the image of Jonah sitting on a hill overlooking Nineveh, in the blazing sun, with a withered vine in the dust behind him. If you don’t recognize the scene, it comes from the very end of the story. Jonah goes to Nineveh and preaches fire and brimstone, then goes out to a hill overlooking the city to watch God fry the heathens like they deserve. But it never happens—the Ninevites repent and God spares them. Then this happens:

 Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. Then the LORD God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

   “It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

 But the LORD said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?” (Jonah 4:5-11 NIV)

This is how I was like Jonah: I too was furious because my sense of entitlement was being violated. I felt that they owed it to me to bend over backwards to do what I wanted. Never mind the fact that those customer reps are people too—never mind that they would have to kick someone else off a flight to do what I want. Dang it, I’m entitled to it! And just like Jonah, what I claim to be entitled to is entirely outside my control. Just like Jonah didn’t cause the vine to grow, I did not cause the weather to get cold. I did not fly the plane, I do not own the plane, I didn’t even pay for the ticket (Thanks, Mom and Dad!)! And just like Jonah, God could ask me, “Is it right for you to be angry about the flight?” No, it really isn’t. I am, incredibly blessed, and this amounts to an entirely minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. What right have I to spread my miserable mood to everyone around me? On what basis do I think I’m entitled to have everyone else bow to my will?

Now, it turns out that I was able to get booked on the flight tonight at 9pm, which I am very happy about it. It was only because of the hard work of a very patient and helpful customer rep named Michele S. that I’m not spending the night in Phoenix. This is great news. On the other hand, it also calls into question whether I’ve actually learned anything. Would I still be writing this if Michele hadn’t been able to help me? How would I feel if I was booked for tomorrow’s flight instead? I hope that I’ve learned a lesson; I hope that I’ve grown. But more and more I get the feeling that growing in Christ is not about learned lessons for good, but rather about being continually reminded of the things we’ve learned but keep managing to forget. Today I was reminded that I have an exaggerated sense of entitlement (along with all of Western society), and I hope that I did learn my lesson (at least for a little while). If not, maybe next time God will have to make me spend the night.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I know it’s been a while, but my schedule got insanely busy there for a while. This is the first time I’ve had the time and motivation to write anything like this (for reasons I’ve just explained) but I hope to get back in the habit.

One last thing: as cliché as it is to say, just remember that Christmas is not about presents, or big dinners, or carols. Christmas isn’t even about family. Christmas is about recognizing the gift we have been given in Christ. Don’t let anything else, even the good stuff, get in the way of that.

Merry Christmas!